Doctor insights on:
Cardiac Arrest In Infants

1

Very rarely:
Primary cardiac arrest (not related to choking, drowning, etc) is exceedingly rare in children but can happen. Structural problems in the heart that are present at birth can predispose to lethal rhythm problems. This is one of the arguments made to place aeds (automatic external defibrillators) in schools and gymnasiums.
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2

No, but:
If you overdose on any drug, you can get very ill or die. Even water, right? If albuterol is given in excess, it can become toxic. If a child (or adult) has such a bad asthma attack that they need to take constant or frequently repeating doses of albuterol, they should go to the er as uncontrolled asthma is a true emergency and there are other treatments available at the hospital.
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9

Screen test:
ECG is used because it is relatively inexpensive. We have no good cost effective screening test. Cardiac arrest is rare when compared to the numbers of exercising population. Tests become more effective when a specific question within the effectiveness of the test are the reason for the test.
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12

It can be:
When sudden death in an athlete occurs because of a heart condition the cause can usually be divided into three main categories: an abnormally thick heart muscle with no obvious explanation (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy); abnormal coronary arteries (abnormal course through the heart or absence of one of them) and finally sudden abnormal heart rhythms.
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14

Yes:
But usually for different etiologies (causes).
Most children and infants will have a cardiac arrest if they do not get enough air (oxygen) and this will cause the heart rate to decrease to a point where the heart can stop (systole) or go into an abnormal rhythm. Also cardiac defects or anatomic abnormalities from birth can do this too. The best treatment is CPR and call 911.
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16

Final pathway:
Ventricular fibrillation is the final step before a heart stops beating. Any heart that has not gotten enough blood flow or oxygen for a prolonged period of time will begin fibrillating followed shortly by asystole (no beating at all). In a sense, ventricular fibrillation is the final step every heart likely goes through before it stops beating.
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17

Yes...:
Cardiac arrest means that the heart is no longer beating. When the heart stops, breathing also stops, called a respiratory arrest. However, a person can stop breathing even though their heart is still beating; the reverse cannot be true!
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20

Respiratory failure:
Infants & children generally experience cardiac arrest after a period of declining respiratory function. In illnesses like asthma, progessive pneumonia, bronchiolitis etc., effective oxygen exchange begins to fail, the child works harder until they are exhausted and give out. At some point, the heart develops a rhythm disturmance & quits pumping.Drowning or trauma+ lung compromize will also do it.
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